Russia will send observers to monitor the June 20 snap parliamentary election in Armenia as part of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) mission, this according to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko.

"We plan to send observers within the proposed quota, but the ODIHR's mission has not yet determined the exact number of observers," Rudenko said, adding that there were time limits for the ODIHR mission to give a final number.

In April, at the invitation of the Armenian government, the ODIHR conducted a remote study (NAM - Needs Assessment Mission) to assess the pre-election environment and the preparations for the early elections in the country. Based on this assessment, the NAM will recommend whether to deploy an ODIHR election-related activity for the forthcoming elections and, if so, what type of activity best meets the identified needs.

The NAM (Needs Assessment Mission) included Ana Rusu, ODIHR Senior Election Adviser and Hamadziripi Munyikwa, ODIHR Election Adviser. The ODIHR NAM was joined by Tim Knoblau, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Programme and Administrative Officer.